Bigger is better....truth or myth?

Wonder who it was that first came up with the slogan "bigger is better"?  I will agree that in a few very specific circumstances bigger might indeed be better, but generally speaking bigger just means "bigger headaches".

I read in the paper yesterday that now that the US economy is recovering, the size of newly built homes is growing again.  It said that new homes now average over 2200 square feet, but I can tell you that around here (Dallas), that's a relatively modest starter house.  The vast majority seem to be well in excess of 3000 feet.  For families with kids this might make sense, but not for empty nesters (and there are a lot of us).

Build 'em big.  Build a lot of 'em.  

I haven't built a home smaller than 5500 square feet in years.  Right now I'm adding on to a 6300 square footer I built 2 years ago ^ , bringing it up to around 9000 feet.  I can't imagine living in a house that large.  It just isn't my thing.  (But of course, if they're intent on giving their hard earned money to a builder, it might as well be me. ;)

I had a large(-ish) home myself a few years ago, but with the recession of '08 approaching I knew that its value was only going to drop, so I bailed when I could and did fairly well.  

The main reason I bailed, however, was because I was tired of paying all the property taxes, the insurance, the utilities, the maintenance, the yard upkeep, the cleaning, etc.  I was getting no satisfaction from ownership, and in fact it was an albatross around my neck.

I began thinking about it and realized we actually only used about 1300 square feet, the rest just being space that was never used.  All that hassle wasn't worth it to my teeny ego.  Or maybe I'm just lazy? (Full disclosure.)

We rented a 2 bed-2 bath apartment* in a nice area and found it to be plenty big enough....after getting rid of everything we knew we were never going to use again.  Before long we realized even that was too much (the spare bedroom became a catch-all junk room) so we downsized again to a one bedroom apartment.  The peace of mind knowing that I have virtually no chores to do around the house/apt is very liberating.

This would do just fine.

But now here's the crazy part:  I sometimes think it would be nice to build another home for K and me.  I could make it state-of-the-art, energy efficient, super durable, etc, but I would want absolutely no more than 1,000 square feet, and there's the rub.  No city around here will allow a home to be built that small.

Why, you ask?  (Go ahead, ask.)  Because the cities like all the property tax $$$$ big houses bring in.  Screw what the people want, this is what the cities want.  The tail is wagging the dog.  

So the next time you hear some bureaucrat from the Department of Overpaid Gubment Employment preach that we need to preserve water and power, use less everything, recycle more, live smarter and such, remind them of this hypocrisy.

S

* Sometime I should write about my downsizing experience.

Finis....

....that's a fancy foreign word for "I'm done".  Today I'm finally meeting with Mr. & Dr. T, collecting my final $$$ and signing papers on their new custom home.  Here are some highlights:

It's about 5800 sq ft on a half acre homesite.

Nice and formal, as they requested.

 

The front staircase (there's a second off the kitchen).

Looking up at the 21' high foyer ceiling.

The formal dining to the left off the foyer.

The study to the right off the foyer.

And as the Realtors always point out, "Here's the kitchen".  *DUH!  I would have never guessed*

The small butler's pantry tucked off behind the kitchen.

A small mud room off the door from the 3-car garage.

One wall in the utility room.  It also has space for a second refrig/freezer, and of course the washer and dryer.  It is immediately adjacent to the master closet....

This view shows about 1/3 of the master closet, which opens off the master bath....

Ummmm....

View from the upstairs reading nook.

The chirren's (1) playroom upstairs.

The Juliet balcony overlooking the living room.

:)

Nice, as long as someone else maintains it.

All together there are 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, 3 living areas, and a 3-car garage.  The quality was VERY nice.  (I have some incredible craftsmen!)  In fact, the building inspector even called it "exceptional".  It isn't at all to my personal taste (and those colors!), but I'm not making the payment, so.... 

Now where was I?  Oh yes....retired.  :)

S 

My downsizing saga, Pt. 1

I've been a custom home builder for nearly 40 years.  Inflation, zoning laws, and buyer's tastes being what they are, most of the homes I build today are very large and cost well over $1M (just the kitchen appliances cost more than my first home) and look something like this:

(Sorry for the small photos.  Any larger and they lost sharpness.)

Maybe that's why big swanky houses hold no special allure for me....I see them every day.  *yawn*  For myself I built a more modest-sized home....3,147 sq feet, two-story, corner lot, study, 24' x 36' Great Room, etc.  (I know...what was I thinking?)  When I met K and first brought her to my home her jaw hit the floor when she walked in.  To me it was just run-of-the-mill, but to her it was "a mansion".  She loved it at the same time I was tiring of it.  That was in 2006.  By 2007 the economic outlook was getting scary.  By 2008 it was obvious to me it would be "man-the-lifeboat" time very soon.  I could see a little pro-active strategic planning was in order.

In retrospect I'm the last person who should own a home.  I HATE yard work, but with a next-door neighbor who was Mr. Yard-of-the-Month I had to put forth at least some effort.  To me a yard is just a place for the dog to crap.  I don't entertain much at home, and never have any overnight company. 

I DETEST doing maintenance of any kind, but of course I do it (grudgingly)....I want things to look good and work right.  I flip the switch and expect things to come on.  Unfortunately things don't always work like that and my home was by then at the age where maintenance / repair was becoming a regular occurrence.

My kids were long since grown, educated, married, and on someone else's payroll.  I had bedrooms....an entire upstairs even, unused.  When is a 24 x 36 foot Great Room too big?  When you have to wave your arms and yell to get your mate's attention.  And besides, when you're in bed asleep you can't tell if your bedroom is 13 x 13 or 23 x 23.  The thought of paying for all that unused space, and paying taxes on it, and insurance, and utilities, etc, was really bugging me.

I knew it was going to break my new bride's heart to give up her "mansion", but she deferred to me (thank you Sweetie!) and let me put it on the market.  My timing was fortunate....values were still up there and financing hadn't yet seized up.  We sold it before the economy "hit the fan" and did well.

Since K had been driving 50 miles round trip in heavy traffic daily to work I told her we'd rent a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment somewhere closer to her work for a while and we could address another, smaller home later.  My plan was moving forward.  

That's where I'll leave the story for now.  Part 2 tomorrow.

S